Dragons in the Backyard at Night
by natcat5
Summary: Alfred F. Jones is a normal teenager. He's fifteen years old (sixteen in four months!), lives with his parents on a small farm, has two horses named Freedom and Liberty, and likes football and horseback riding and hamburgers and astronomy. Arthur Kirkland is not a normal teenager. (In fact, basically no one is a normal teenager, or a normal person. Just Alfred. Only Alfred.)
1. Chapter 1

**for clarity: Romania = Danut/Dani; Norway = Niels**

Introduction

Alfred F. Jones is a normal teenager.

He's fifteen years old (sixteen in four months!), lives with his parents on a small farm, has two horses named Freedom and Liberty, and likes football and horseback riding and hamburgers and astronomy.

His best friend's name is Matthew, and he's positive that they're actually brothers. Both of them were adopted and they're both the same age and practically born on the same day. Someone probably just got the numbers mixed up for Matt's birthday on the adoption forms.

He hates politics and vegetables and winter and French class. Alfred likes swimming in the lake with Matthew, playing video games with his other friend Kiku, and horseback riding with Arthur, who he has a little baby tiny mostly non-existent okay actually completely existent crush on.

Alfred is just a normal teenager, with normal teenage problems.

Complicated 

Arthur Kirkland is complicated.

He's complicated in the worst way. Meaning his layers have layers and he's absolutely unpredictable and can go from bitching at Alfred about littering to walking around with huge purple-green bruises he refuses to explain. He's a good student but everyone's sure he's in a gang. He's polite to everyone in the town but rude to all the members of his own family. His best friends are the weird Romanian orphan with the arm tattoos and the creepy Norwegian orphan who doesn't talk, and no one can figure any of them out. He wears two iron rings, a silver bracelet, a stone amulet, and a loop through the shell of his ear. He used to dress like a total punk but nowadays he's fond of sweatervests and buttonups, even though the jewelry stays. Two years ago everyone was sure he was on drugs, despite the town doctor swearing he wasn't, and no one thinks that whatever he and his friends get up to in the woods at night is either legal or wholesome.

Arthur has a short temper, but he's really nice. Especially to animals. Alfred likes the afternoons he and Arthur spend with Liberty and Freedom because Arthur is like 90% less prickly and also it's funny how he holds complete conversations with the horses. Like they understand. Arthur doesn't talk much to people anymore, but he chats freely with Al's horses, with Heracles's cats, with Ludwig's dogs, with Gilbert's bird. And with himself. He has a really weird habit of muttering to himself. But he's been doing that for years.

Arthur doesn't have a lot of friends, but he has some. He's friends with Yao, Kiku's adoptive older brother, and he's friends with Rajni, the town doctor. He's friends with Francis, Matthew's guardian, and he's friends with Gilbert, the police chief's eldest son. The only friends he has who are his own age are Dani, Niels, and Alfred. But he doesn't seem to mind.

Arthur spends a lot of times in the forest. Like, _a lot _of time. Alfred knows because the only time Arthur turns his cellphone off is when he's in the forest, and his cellphone is like, _always off. _For someone who gets so fussy about dirt and looking presentable, he spends an awful lot of time running through the grass with his shoes off.

Arthur has like, a billion secrets. And even though they've been friends for over a year now, Alfred doesn't think he knows half of them. He knows Arthur can't swim. He knows Arthur has trouble sleeping indoors (which is weird as hell but hey Alfred can dig the whole 'one with nature' thing). He knows Arthur considers Danut and Niels to be his brothers more than he considers his actual biological brothers to be his brothers. He knows Arthur and Kiku meditate and drink tea together some days (Alfred pouted for like a week straight when they wouldn't let him join. He can _so totally _sit still for more than five seconds). He knows that Arthur isn't like the rest of the senior class who are desperate to leave and is seriously considering waiting a year before applying to a college. He knows that Arthur has two tattoos shaped like wings on his shoulder blades, and that they look suspiciously similar to the curling tattoos on Dani's arms. But literally _no one _knows about those, and Alfred promised he wouldn't tell.

Arthur is turning seventeen years old at the end of the month, and he's not going to have a party, no matter how much Alfred badgers him. Arthur says he and Dani and Niels are going to watch a movie in Dani's living room like they do for all of their birthdays every year, and that if Alfred tries to throw him a party _he will_ _regret it sorely and might wake up the next morning missing a toe or two_

But Alfred can't stop himself from planning one out anyways. He sits in his room and muses over who he might invite and decides that, hell, he'll just invite everyone. It's a small town, everyone knows everyone anyways, and he doesn't think there's anyone that actively dislikes Arthur except for his own family. But he reconsiders because Arthur might not _hate _anyone but he does have a short fuse and the list of people who don't usually set him off is quite short. So maybe he won't invite _everyone. _

Obviously he has to invite Dani and Niels, because they're Arthur's best friends and they do everything together anyways. And Niels has that huge brother complex so maybe he'll invite Emil too, even though he's only twelve. And if he invites Emil then he should probably invite Xiang, and then Xiang's twin sister Mei will probably come, and then their older brother Lei will come, and if the three youngest Wang siblings are coming then Linh and Tai will come to supervise. Alfred was going to invite Yong Soo and Kiku anyways. And Kiku gets nervous with crowds so he'll have to invite Heracles to keep him calm. And he'll invite Feliciano and Ludwig too! Because they're his friends and also Kiku's friends and though they're not Arthur's friends Ludwig's older brother Gilbert is. And both Gilbert and Linh are nineteen so if they're there then the party won't have to have any adult supervision. Score!

He could also invite Francis and Antonio, though he thinks Matthew would feel awkward if his guardian was there and no one really considers Antonio to be a credible adult anyways. Especially since he still has a tenuous hold on English and lives by himself in a renovated barn on the outskirts of town. Which is kind of supremely sketchy no matter which way you look at it. The only one who doesn't seem to find it sketchy is Lovino, who spends like, every waking hour at the barn with Antonio. Worse kept secret _ever. _

Alfred spends like, four hours planning out the party before he leaves his room to get a snack and comes back to see Arthur sitting on his desk holding up his planning sheet with one eyebrow raised.

That's another thing about Arthur. He uses windows, not doors. He also walks like a cat, the motherfucker. And he has this _thing _where he always knows when Alfred is doing something that displeases him. And Alfred has no clue _how. _

Arthur has like, a million secrets. He's weird and confusing and _complicated. _

(and Alfred has the biggest fucking crush on him like holy god have you seen his eyes they're so green they're like emeralds and jade and grass and trees and-)

**alright, I discovered I'm really horrible at slice of life and the only way I could write this is in drabble format. so basically, the main timeline starts in March 2013, and the chapters will alternate between moments then and backstory moments in the past. I have some backstory prewritten already.**

**Also (this is important) you can request to see something. if you want to see what exactly character A's life in town is like, I'll do a chapter on them. If you want a chapter on Arthur chatting with Alfred's horses, I'll do a chapter on that. As long as I can fit it in without giving too much away, I'll do it. Occasionally, I might have to wait until the appropriate backstory has been posted, but I'm pretty good at being vague.**

**xoxo, natcat5 ;p**


	2. Arthur (2003)

**July, 2003 **

Arthur meets Danut when he's seven years old.

He's not impressed.

The other boy is everything he's been told by his parents to avoid. Dirty knees, torn clothing, a foolish grin, and casual, slangish language made worse by a thick Romanian accent that makes him almost incomprehensible. The child's friendliness is of no consequence, and Arthur soundly turns his nose up at Danut's offer to go play in the woods. Simultaneously, he hears his mother's voice coming from the kitchen, firmly declining Mrs. Dragomir's offer to show her around the town, and he knows he's done right.

They've just moved to a small town in Virginia, Arthur and his family, a result of a series of unexpected, happy accidents. Both his mother and father come from good, wealthy families, and both his mother and father are wealthy, successful people themselves. But Lady Fortune smiles down upon them anyways, and in the span of one year, his father loses two great aunts and his mother loses her father. Arthur attends three funerals and his parents inherit a combined sum of several million dollars in of their relatives' savings, with even more on the way due to property and business shares.

It's enough money to inspire his parents to get out of cramped, cutthroat London, and his mother's sudden inheritance of a company set up primarily in Virginia inspires them to move continents all together.

So they move to America, to a large house in the middle of a forest. An isolated, almost-mansion on the fringes of a small, off-the-map town. His mother thinks it's a perfect environment to raise him and his siblings in, and she can conduct most of the necessary paperwork for the business from home. They've got enough money now for his father to focus on his career as a novelist, and both his parents assure him that they're all going to be much happier now, living away from the claustrophobic, hectic life in London.

The Dragomirs aren't the first to visit them in that first week when they're still settling in. The local Priest pays a call, bringing with him two grandsons, one older than Arthur and one younger, and enthusiastically proclaiming that he's sure they'll all be great friends.

The younger grandson is too giggly and too handsy and the older is grumpy and rude and refuses to look Arthur in the eye. When they leave, his father rolls his eyes and says _Italians _with a tone voice that tells Arthur he'd be right to ignore them from this point forward. His parents have always been very particular about only associating with 'the right sort', and he does his best to follow their example.

The next to pay a call is the Police Chief, a sternfaced man with long blonde hair and scary blue eyes. Arthur spends _his _visit hiding behind his older sister and trying to pretend like he's not frightened. This man apparently has two grandsons as well, one a year younger than Arthur and one a few years older. His father doesn't role his eyes after he leaves, and his mother comments on how she's sure the Chief's grandsons are a pair of fine boys, and that Arthur should get to know them better. He promises to do just that, though the thought of being friends with someone with the Chief's terrifying face makes his stomach twist.

The following day is when he meets Danut, the boy appearing at their front door with his beaming mother. She introduces them as Daria and Danut Dragomir, explaining that they had moved to town only a year earlier.

The Dragomirs have a similar house to theirs, large and hidden deep within the forest. They're closer to each other then they are to the town, and Mrs. Dragomir laughs loudly and says she doesn't know how she'll get used to finally having neighbours. His father's smile is thin and strained and his mother looks like she's trying to hold back a grimace. Scotty snickers and silently directs Cymry and Duncan's gazes to Danut's mismatched socks, improperly buttoned jacket, and lopsided haircut.

Fiona silences them with a glare before their laughter can become too obvious, and their mother takes the cue to intervene and invite Mrs. Dragomir into the kitchen, while suggesting the children have a chat in the living room. Scotty declines, saying he's got stuff to unpack, and Cymry and Duncan follow him, as they always do. Fiona clucks her tongue at them, and pursues their mother into the kitchen instead, eleven years old and perfectly capable of holding a conversation with adult women.

Arthur is left alone with Danut, who looks neither offended nor putout by the obvious snubbing he's just endured. His grin is still in place, his eyes still warm, with a glint to them that makes Arthur nervous, and his loud peal of laughter at the other boys' receding backs is hearty and genuine. Arthur is taken aback, and he flinches a little when Danut turns to him and loudly- not using his indoor voice at _all _ -asks if he wants to go out and play in the forest while their mothers are talking.

The offer is tempting, for a split second. The notion of going out into the woods without his sneering brothers looking over his shoulder or Fiona's disapproving glares. Without his parents constant scrutiny and judgment. But the moment passes quickly, and, in true Kirkland fashion, Arthur turns his face from the other boy and bluntly states that he's not fond of frolicking in the woods, and he's afraid he'll have to decline.

The Dragomirs leave not too long after that. Mrs. Dragomir is still laughing, still smiling widely and making casual jokes, but Danut is slightly more subdued. He's still smiling, his smile never seems to fade, but when his eyes flicker towards Arthur, there's less warmth in them.

Not that Arthur cares. His parents and his siblings have made their opinion on the Dragomir family known, and since they're all older than him, he's sure that they're right. Even though they're no longer in London, his parents' rules about not falling in with the 'wrong sort' still stand. He'll be sure not to entertain any notion of friendship with Danut Dragomir.

But then he starts hearing the voices.

At first, it's only at night. Whispers trickling in through his window, invading his dreams until he wakes up with a start, hearing giggling and disembodied laughter. Conversations whispered in a language he doesn't know. There's never anything there. Never anything in his room.

At first, he's too frightened to look out his window. He keeps the curtains drawn, and covers his ears, ducks his head under the blanket and counts to ten, then twenty. The first few nights he calls for his parents, but the laughter and the whispers always stop before they get there, and they're both certain he's just unused to their new house.

It gets to the point where he is no longer getting any sleep at night, and Arthur is tired of being scolded for not listening or getting shoved by Scott and Cymry when he stumbles in front of them. He's exhausted during the day, and it's making everyone cross.

So one night, when the laughter starts and the whispers disturb him from sleep, he pokes his head out from the blankets, and rolls out of bed.

And calling them _whispers _isn't quite correct, somehow. They are feather light touches, tickling the inside of his ears and brain. Hums and purrs and whistles that stroke at his consciousness and jerk him awake with cruel precision. They sound like tinkling bells in the winter time and nails scraping down a chalkboard and leaves rustling in the summer breeze.

The sounds are driving him _crazy_, and Arthur has had _enough_.

He flings open his window and stares out into the darkness of the forest that surrounds the estate. The stars are out, but the moon is only a sliver in the sky, and it's not like London, with streetlights and cars to illuminate the night. There's only a continuous darkness, barely cracked by the pinpricks of starlight, and a bottomless silence. The breeze rustles the treetops and branches, but the silence is still heavy and oppressive, and Arthur shrinks back into his room, more afraid of the quiet than he is of the noise.

But then the giggling starts up again, a shriek of laughter that has him pressing his hands against his ears and doubling over, and he whimpers, tears threatening to spill over his closed eyelids.

It's not _fair _that he has to put up with this. That no one else can hear it. It's not fair that they had to move to a place where there are no lights at night and no other people and the only children his parents will let him play with have a scary grandfather. It's not fair that he hears laughter in his sleep, cold laughter that makes his head ache and makes his heart shiver. Laughter that _no one else can hear_. It's not _fair. _

Arthur closes the window that night, and doesn't get any sleep for the next week.

But after almost another month of hearing the laughter, he's determined to discover what it is that is tormenting him this way. He creeps to his window once more, pushes it open and crouches down, peeking over the windowsill with apprehensive eyes.

The laughter echoes and curls and caresses and grates as it always does, and it sounds less like it's coming from the forest and more like it's coming from inside his own head. It's terrifying, and Arthur can feel tears sprouting in his eyes again. He wants to run to his bed and curl up with the blankets over his head. He wants to cover his ears and wait until the sun creeps back over the horizon and the voices fade into nothingness. He wants to run down the hall and dive in between his parents, take comfort in their warmth and presence.

But everyone is getting tired of him not sleeping. His father tells him he needs to grow up, that there's nothing to be afraid of and he's being silly. Duncan and Cymry tease him mercilessly, and Fiona, who is usually his best friend when the others turn against him, has made it clear that she's quite tired of his childishness.

It's horrible, it's making everything go wrong for him, and he has to find out who's laughing outside of his window at night, and get them to _stop. _

The laughter gets louder, piercing and silky and everywhere, and Arthur calls up his courage and opens his eyes, poking his head out the window and peering into the darkness.

He looks, and he sees nothing but trees. Dark, gnarled shapes against the backdrop of night, with overlong grass and tangled bushes creeping up their trunks. It's a full moon now, shining bright in the sky, and the glow casts everything into new, unfamiliar shades. But there are still no people standing outside his window, laughing at him. There are no giggling children hiding in the grass. There are no bells, no whistles. Nothing but trees, and grass, and-

Arthur startles, recoiling away from the window for half a second, before leaning forward with wide eyes.

_Lights. _

Gold-white, red-gold, green-white, silver-green-gold, twinkling and bobbing in the depths of the forest. Little balls of light, dancing and flickering from between the trees.

And the laughter.

The laughter follows them as they bob up and down, as they weave and dance between branches and down within the grass. Arthur watches, his jaw slack with amazement, and he rubs at his eyes, wondering if he must be dreaming.

But when he opens his eyes again, they're still there.

Arthur considers calling his brothers, his sister, his parents. Calling them to _prove _that he's been hearing things each and every night, that there has been _something _that existed outside of his window. But he's afraid that if he turns away, the lights will disappear, that his only evidence will fade away into the night, and all he'll have left is the echoing laughter that's been tormenting him.

And the lights are _beautiful. _The colours and the brightness are enchanting, and Arthur finds that he can't tear his gaze away, watching the way they dance and twirl in the night, the sound of their laughter no longer quite so terrifying, more like bells than nails, more soothing than grating.

Almost robotically, Arthur finds himself climbing up onto the sill of his window, his gaze stuck on the bright lights. The laughter is booming in his ears, and it's hard for him to think about anything else.

The lights dance closer and he smiles as a clutch of them hover in front of his face. Arthur reaches for them, only to have them flutter just out of his hold, the laughter high-pitched and mischievous. He finds himself leaning out of the window, trying to reach for them, trying to touch….

The next thing he knows he's screaming, crying out in pain with his arm bent awkwardly beneath him and his windowsill replaced by the grass and hard ground. The lights are gone, but the laughter still echoes in his ears, not stopping even as his father comes running around the side of the house to pick him up, not stopping even as he's carried into the house with tears streaming down his face.

/

The next time Arthur meets Danut, he's sitting in the waiting room of the town doctor. An Indian man named Mr. Patel, who insists that everyone just call him Rajni.

His arm is broken, has been broken ever since he fell out of his window while 'sleep-walking', and he's just been in for a checkup on the healing process. His mother is in Rajni's office now, talking to him about medicine and physical therapy and other stuff he doesn't want to think about.

Arthur is miserable.

The laughter hasn't stopped, he knows, but the pain medicine makes it easier to fall asleep despite it. He knows that there is _something _outside of his window, behind his house, and now, he's terrified of what it is, what it can do, what it _wants _to do to him.

And he can't do anything about it. Because no one else can hear, no one else can _see, _and the only thing Arthur can do is sit here and try not to cry while he hugs his injured arm close to his body.

That's when the door opens, and Danut enters the clinic.

The Romanian boy is in his usual state of disarray, with the same haphazard grin. It's a bit more pained than usual, however, and Arthur notes that the other boy is cradling his wrist the same way that Arthur's cradling his arm. There are rips and tears all over Danut's clothing, and dirt stains up his pant legs and on his sleeves. He looks like he's been crashing through the forest, and it's a testament to how tired Arthur is that he can't even summon enough energy to sniff in distaste when Danut sits down on the couch beside him.

He curls away from the other boy, clutching his arm tighter to his chest and then wincing when he holds it a bit _too _tight. The action doesn't go unnoticed by his benchmate, who turns towards him with a blatantly inquisitive look.

His innocent question, _what the heck happened to you? _Is met with stony silence from Arthur, who doesn't _know _what happened to him because everyone's said that it was a figment of his imagination, a dream. That there is no laughter, and no lights, and that it's ridiculous that he just _fell _out of an open window.

So he doesn't say anything, bites his lip and remains stubbornly silent. Refuses to speak, to be laughed at for the stupid explanation of _I sleepwalked out my window. _Gilbert had laughed. Ludwig, a year _younger _than Arthur, had looked at him like he was an idiot. Scotty and Cymry laugh at him whenever their parents aren't looking.

It's a horrible feeling, not being believed. Being made to second-guess your own memories and experiences. Being told the laugher you hear and lights you see don't exist. It's horrible, and there's a sick, painful kind of pressure that's been building within Arthur for the past week.

So when Dani continues to speak, when he follows up his first question with, _what, can't you remember how you broke your arm? _Arthur whirls on him with teeth bared and bruised and battered body full of righteous fury.

"Of course I can remember!" he hisses, "But it doesn't matter, because no one believes me! No one believes that there were people laughing outside my window, no one believes that I saw lights dancing in the forest- everyone thinks I _sleepwalked _out my window, but it wasn't- I heard-"

He breaks off, and looks down at his knees, hunching down further.

"The lights tricked me," he whimpers miserably, "They pulled me out the window. I heard them. They were still laughing."

The silence that follows is horrible, and Arthur struggles vainly to hold back the tears welling up in his eyes. He's expecting ridicule, teasing, much of what he's already been experiencing for the past week and a half. He's expecting disbelief and mockery, and maybe, in a cruel turn of events, Danut will look down at _Arthur _in distaste.

But that's not what occurs. Instead, what happens is a few seconds of silence, followed by Danut shuffling along the couch until he's close enough to touch Arthur's shoulder.

"I believe you," says Danut simply, a corner of his mouth curling upwards, "They almost drowned me in the river the first week I moved here. Mama says it's in their nature, but I think Fairies are just _awful._"

Arthur's jaw falls open uselessly, his mind flatlining. He struggles to find something to say, struggles to wrap his head around someone _believing _him, someone taking him seriously, and- and- did he say _Fairies? _

"It's cool that you can see them too," continues Danut, his small smile blooming into a grin, "Are your family sorcerers as well? We should-,"

The opening of Rajni's office door cuts him off, and both boys startle, turning towards the sound. Arthur's mother walks out, and pauses midstep, shooting a sharp look at Danut. Arthur curls inwards and shrinks away from the other boy as her narrowed gaze turns towards him. Rajni emerges from behind her, and greets both boys with a smile, walking forward to crouch in front of Danut and ask him how he's doing. Mrs. Kirkland's stern glare morphs into her practiced smile; the one that doesn't reach her eyes.

She's at his side in an instant, guiding him towards the door with her hand firmly between his shoulder blades. She doesn't need to say anything for Arthur to know that she's upset. She's been upset since he fell out the window and didn't have a good reason as to _why. _Seeing him talking with a boy that he _knows _he's not supposed to has just made her crosser.

But the sinking feeling in his stomach that occurs everytime he disappoints his mother is tempered with something else. A spark, starting low in his gut and sending shivers up his spine. A feeling that's making his heart race and his mind whir.

Danut _believed _him. He believed him and he didn't laugh or scoff and he had said, he had said-

_Fairies?_

_Sorcerers?!_

/

**let's all take a minute to appreciate the miracle that is me making an effort to update this thing every week.**

**Thanks much for the reviews! I'm glad people are enjoying it! And I'm definitely taking note when you guys say which characters you want to see more of. ;) **

**xoxo, natcat5 ;p **


	3. Alfred (2013)

**you guys are so so so lucky I wrote this chapter last week otherwise there is no way I could have updated today I've got three back to back exams this coming week and nothing is right with the world**

**/**

Danut Dragomir is _weird. _

And he's not weird in a subtle way either. He like, _flaunts _his weirdness. He walks around town with a weird tiny hat, has weird satanic tattoos all over his forearms, and wears gloves and combat boots like, _everywhere. _He's got this strange sense of humour that no one gets except for Arthur and Niels, and his eyes do this thing where they flash red sometimes and Alfred spent most of the last two years convinced Dani was either possessed or a vampire.

_On the other hand, _Dani is also actually really nice? He's friendly and helps out with anything anyone asks him too and is the furthest thing from a devil-worshipper ever. If it weren't for the tattoos. And the combat boots. And the iron rings. And the cackling laughter. And the fact that he runs around the woods at night with no adequate explanation.

Dani is weird, and nice, and unpredictable in a kind of uncomfortable way. Because he smiles a lot but like, you never _ever _know what he's thinking. Alfred's not great at reading people, but he's pretty sure he's seen Dani smile at someone while plotting their murder. He could just _tell._ Because of the way his eyes were all narrowed _and doing that really scary red-eye flashy thing. _

Dani is weird, and he can be kind of scary, but his parents and little brother were brutally murdered when he was twelve, and the rest of his family abandoned him, and he ended up living alone in that big empty house when his caretaker ditched him. It makes Alfred feel like an asshole whenever he thinks about how weird Dani is, and he thinks the rest of the town feels the same way, because Dani should have gotten arrested for trespassing on like, _at least _twelve different occasions, but Chief Beilschmidt always lets him off with only a warning.

Dani is Arthur's very best friend. That's probably the only reason Alfred pays as much attention to him as he does. The two of them were friends before Niels moved here, and he's heard Yao laugh about how much trouble the two of them used to get into before they had Niels's common sense to rein them in. The tattoos on Arthur's back look a lot like the ones on Dani's arms, just like they wear the same kind of metal rings, and Alfred's not entirely convinced they're _not _in an online cult.

Cult-ish behavior aside, Dani and Arthur are _really_ good friends. He knows that Dani and Niels never left Arthur's side during that maybe-drug-addict-no-one-really-knows-what-the-heck-was-wrong-with-him phase, and stuck by him even after he became a social pariah. He knows that if Arthur's not sleeping on his roof or in the forest he's usually sleeping at Dani's house, and that he's moved most of his clothing and favourite books there. He knows that Arthur and Niels were the only ones that Dani would let get close to him for _months _after his family was killed, and they've been stuck as a mutually co-dependent trio ever since.

Alfred's pretty sure that Dani knows all of the secrets about Arthur that Alfred doesn't. It stings sometimes, and makes him pout, but they've been friends for a lot longer, and, as Arthur says, are basically brothers.

So as much as Dani is weird, and kind of freaks Alfred out, he's the one he goes to try and make Arthur's birthday party an actual legitimate thing.

Unfortunately, the first thing Dani does is raise an eyebrow and say _You realize Arthur hates parties right? _and Alfred honestly doesn't know why he thought he'd be _any _help at all.

Alfred then proceeds to explain that Arthur absolutely _has _to have a party because he didn't have one for his sweet sixteen and who doesn't have a party for their sweet sixteen and also Arthur is so reclusive and running around the forest naked or whatever the hell it is they do out there is not an adequate method of socializing and he doesn't think Arthur realizes how many people actually _like _him and want to wish him happy birthday and how is a party awful if it means being surrounded by people who _like _you and Alfred promises not to invite any of Arthur's asshole siblings and he just really really wants to do something nice for Arthur because not enough people do nice things for Arthur and Arthur deserves nice things because he's kind of perfect.

His mental filter catches up to his mouth _way _late and Dani's grinning at him, the asshole. Alfred scowls when Dani does that cackling thing, but it fades when the older boy agrees to help, under _very specific _conditions.

Mostly he just wants to filter the guest list, pick the music, and help plan the itinerary. He also makes Alfred _swear _to not sneak in any surprises because Arthur is a tender old man with high blood pressure and no one wants to see him explode. He also recommends holding the party at Niels's house, because Tino and Berwald are cool and won't mind, and Arthur will be less likely to bolt if it's in a place he's comfortable with.

Alfred asks why they can't hold it at Dani's house, since it's bigger and also devoid of anyone but himself, and Dani just grins and says he doesn't want to go through the trouble of relocating all the bodies.

Alfred is like, ninety percent sure he's joking. Eighty percent. Thirty percent.

His inevitable freak out is postponed, however, because then Dani's grin fades a little and he looks at Alfred closely, head tilted to the side and eyes narrowed slightly.

"You really like him, don't you_,_"he says, a statement not a question, with a weird sort of half smile on his face. And okay, Alfred's not stupid, he totally gets what Dani's insinuating, and he turns bright red and splutters that _duh, _what's not to like _platonically_? Arthur's cool. Arthur's awesome. He's smart and kind and has really green eyes and also rides horses which automatically makes him superior to everyone else. _Pssth. _What a dumb question.

Dani's smile only widens, and he laughs a little.

"That's cool. I think it could be a good thing, the two of you_," _he says with a contemplative look, and before Alfred can ask or deny or splutter anymore Dani's expression turns weirdly serious, and he looks over his shoulder for a moment before turning back to Alfred.

"Just be careful where you say that, yeah?" He continues, attempting to sound casual, but with a weirdly sharp edge in his voice. "Finding out you like Arthur in that way, or that Arthur likes you, could make…some people jealous_." _

Alfred is pretty sure something like that isn't supposed to sound so threatening but his stomach twists painfully and he scowls, taking an involuntary step back.

"What the hell does that even mean?" He demands, before recoiling with a blush. "N-not that I care or anything, but does Arthur have like, a rabid fanclub? Should I, hypothetically, be concerned about being mauled by preteen girls?"That seems unlikely. Arthur sort of has a bad reputation in town (_completely _unwarranted) and most people stay away from him. Sometimes girls are drawn in by the rumours of him being a 'rebel bad boy', but they lose interest pretty fast when they find out he sometimes walks around with flowers woven through his hair.

Dani grins, but he looks tense, and his eyes are flickering from side to side cagely. Alfred is about to demand that Dani explain what the hell he's talking about and to stop being so damn vague, but the words freeze in his throat when the other boy's gaze settles on him again. His normally brown irises a burning, blood red.

"Stay out of the forest, Alfred."

And that's it. Dani's turning on his heel and walking away, waving one of his gloved hands in departure. Leaving Alfred standing feeling vaguely terrified and more than a little confused.

Dani is so. fucking. _weird. _

**/**

**I've got the next five chapters all planned out. ****  
****Also, I said before this present storyline takes place March 2013, because I though Arthur's fanon b-day was in March? but some sources say it's in April? Idk man do you guys even care that much since Hima never gave him a definite birthdate.**


	4. Dani (2008)

**I realize Romania isn't a necessarily popular character in the fandom but I have lot of feelings about him in this 'verse and you all are unfortunately going to have to put up with him an awful lot.**

**/**

When you turn five years old, your mother kneels in front of you and tells you, very sternly, that your life is precious.

She tells you that every year is precious, every hour is precious, every second is precious, and that you mustn't use them carelessly.

Your time is only powerful _because_ it is precious, because there is strength in life, in memories, in moments that should come to pass, and giving them up should never be an easy task.

Every time you perform a miracle, every time you break the so-called 'laws of nature', every time you warp and change the world for your own uses, you are losing time, losing precious things.

And your mother makes you promise never to forget that.

She can make fire dance along her fingertips and bring golems of earth to life. She can make herself fly and turn nothing into something with a crackle of red lightning.

But she doesn't do it often. She uses her magic sparingly and when you ask her why, when you ask her what's so bad about losing a few years off your life if you can perform miracles, if you can be powerful, she gathers you up in her arms and smiles.

_Because the years I'd lose are years I could spend with you, _she says simply, kissing you on the forehead, _Years I could spend with you, and your tata. They are too precious for me to use carelessly. _

You nod, because you understand that, but you also think about how that's not the same for you. Your parents are going to die before you anyways, so it's not like they'd miss you, miss the years you could use. The thirty or so years that you'd outlive them.

But your father understands you, understands the scheming look in your eye, and he picks you up and says _One day, you'll have someone precious to you like you and your mama are precious to me. And you will never, ever want to leave them. You'll want to spend all your years with them, and not waste a single one. So when we start teaching you, Danut, don't use your magic wastefully. You'll regret the time you've lost, once you've met that precious person. _

_Promise me. _

You lock your pinky with his, and promise. But in your head, you adjust the terms somewhat. You'll be careful with your magic, but only up to a point. Because you don't think you'll _ever _meet someone so cool that wanting to be with them would reign over your desire to fly, to create and destroy, to be powerful. You don't think someone so precious could ever exist for you, not when you're already so in love with the magic you'll one day wield.

So you promise, for your parents, but if you don't meet this precious person by the time you're old like them, you're considering all bets off.

/

**February 2008**

When you are twelve years old, you lose everything.

You lose your _tata, _your _mama, _your little brother, and you are pretty sure you're going to lose your best friend too.

You almost kill him. He climbs through your bedroom window because you haven't been answering his calls. Because he's your best friend, practically your brother, and he's worried about you. He comes to check on you on you, all alone in that big house, and you almost kill him. Arthur's blood stains your mouth and his eyes are half open and glazed when he collapses to the floor.

You're too stunned to react. You kneel sobbing over his body and don't move until you feel a hand on the back of your neck, until someone physically pulls you away and up onto your feet.

You look up and see familiar violet eyes, narrowed, but lacking their usual emotionless mask. And you're not even surprised. Not shocked that he knew to come here. Niels has always had a sixth sense about when you and Arthur need his help.

Niels pulls you to your feet and you're ready to run, ready to take off into the woods like the monster you are. And you know if you leave the house, Yao will find out, will find out what's happened to you, and he'll make you leave because he doesn't let anything that's dangerous stay in the town, stay in his forest…It's why you've been hiding, it's why you've stayed locked up here, even when the housekeeper left and the food in the fridge started to go bad. It's why you never returned Arthur's phone calls or opened the door when he knocked. You couldn't face anyone, not the way you are now. But it's too late, you messed up, and you'll have to leave, you'll have to run away.

But before you can move, before you can disappear, Arthur opens his eyes and rolls his head to look at you, weakly stretching out a hand towards you.

_Don't go, _he says, _Dani it's not your fault. It's okay. _

_Don't go. _

_Please don't go. _

You make a choked sound and cover your face with your hands.

He passes out not long after that, and you trail behind miserably as Niels carries him from your bedroom to your parents', to a bed whose sheets aren't bloodstained. You linger awkwardly by the doorway as he lies Arthur down and starts bandaging his wound, not convinced that you shouldn't leave, that you shouldn't disappear.

But then Niels turns to you and gives you the flattest, dirtiest look you've ever received from him. His expression is accusing, and you flinch.

"If you leave, he'll be devastated_," _he says bluntly, his intonation as emotionless as always, "Don't even think about it."

"I almost _killed_ him_," _you say, and your voice breaks, another hiccupping sob bubbling out of your throat. "I shouldn't_-"_

"He loves you, idiot,"snaps Niels, a flare of purple lighting up his eyes, "If this is the first time you've fed from someone since you've been back, then there's no way you would have been strong enough to hold him down. He could have fought you off easily, but he didn't."

You breathe in sharply and turn your face away, tears still blurring your vision.

"He'll still hate me,"you say bitterly. And that hurts. It hurts so much and you've been hurting for weeks now. Because you lost your parents and your little brother and now you're going to lose Arthur too.

"He'll only hate you if you leave him_," _replies Niels flatly, even as you stubbornly refuse to look up, to meet his gaze or to look at Arthur, "You both depend on each other, you always have. Arthur will always be your friend; I don't think there's anything you could do that would change that._" _

You bite your lip and shake your head, backing up out of the room, but then Niels is beside you, moving faster than your eyes can track, and he's got you by the back of your shirt again, dragging you towards the bed.

"You need to be here when he wakes up,"he insists, "Otherwise you'll both be miserable and I'll never hear the end of it. I've had to deal with Arthur the whole time you were cooped up in here by yourself and not answering the phone. It was annoying and I'm not doing it again."

And if the situation wasn't what it was you would laugh. Because you and Arthur have known Niels for almost four years now, and have been trying to get him to be your friend for just as long. He's cold and obstinate and has a deep mistrust of any and all humans. But he's bailed the both of you out of trouble more times than you can count. He's rescued you from trolls and mischievous nymphs and shadows Arthur to make sure he doesn't get into anything he can't handle when you're away in Romania. But Niels still acts like he can't stand you, still acts like you're both a huge pain in his ass.

Something's shifted just now, you think, something in Niels and his relationship with the two of you, but it's not the time to discuss it. Not when he's tossed you onto the bed besides Arthur's pale, unconscious body and is giving you a look that threatens murder if you even think of moving.

You and Arthur have slept in the same bed before. On the rare occasions your parents went to Romania without you, on the days when the teasing from Arthur's siblings and the harsh reproaches from his parents got too much for him. And the days when you just fell asleep together, before Arthur could go home. You're used to the feeling of his body curled up next to yours, even though the way you can hear his heartbeat and still smell and taste his blood is making your stomach curdle painfully.

You don't move though, partially because Niels might actually kill you, and partially because this is the first time since your parents died that you've felt anything like warmth in your veins. That you've felt anything familiar, anything like family and love, anything that reminded you about that speech your parents gave to you all those years ago.

Dimi is dead, your little brother. He's dead because of you. But Arthur…Arthur's still alive. And he…he's your brother too.

Tears trickle out of your eyes, rolling down you nose to bead at the tip before dropping down onto the pillow, leaving little damp spots on the white fabric. You sniffle, and tentatively take Arthur's hand in yours, too nervous to move closer, but comforted by the feeling of his fingers laced with yours.

You think about what your parents had told you. About precious people, and about how your life was important, and you want to laugh and scream and cry.

There's nothing precious about your life now. It's broken and cracked and stained with blood.

But you think about Arthur and how worried he was when you broke your arm last spring. About how he always follows you into everything, even the things both your parents and Yao tell you not to do, because he doesn't want you to be alone. You think about how his face was splotchy with tears when he climbed through your window, when he yelled at you and asked why you wouldn't let him help. You think about how he didn't push you away when your teeth sank into his neck, how he clutched at your sleeves but didn't once push you away.

Your life is shattered, a mess, and it hurts to exist. It hurts to breathe. It hurts with every beat of your heart. You're angry at yourself for surviving when your family didn't, angry at yourself for what you've become, terrified for what will happen next. You don't think your life is precious.

But…but Arthur does. Arthur will be sad if you go. Arthur's been a mess because you came back and wouldn't let him in. Wouldn't let him help. Arthur's your brother, and he loves you.

Your life is precious to him.

You start to cry in earnest, sobbing into the pillow and clutching tightly to Arthur's hand. You're still too afraid of yourself to get closer. Too afraid of hurting him again.

"N-Niels?" you manage to stutter out, still clutching at Arthur's hand like it's your last lifeline. You look up to see him hovering by the bed, his face completely lacking expression as usual. He tilts his head at you and raises an eyebrow in reply to your summons.

You swallow thickly, still blinking back tears, and drop your gaze. "C-can you stay?" you inhale sharply, another sob building in your throat. "Please?"

Niels seems to hesitate for a moment, something unreadable flickering across his face for half a second, but then he sits down on the bed beside you, idly flicking hair out of his eyes.

"I wasn't planning on going anywhere," he says dully, staring forwards and not meeting your gaze.

"Thanks," you reply thickly, and then you close your eyes, curling up and pushing your face into the pillow.

It still feels like you're living in a nightmare. It still feels like you'll wake up and your parents and little brother will be alive and you'll still be a twelve-year-old sorcerer in training and nothing more. But you know that this is real, as horrible as it is, this your life now. And Yao might kick you out of town, and you might have to live as a hermit for the rest as forever, but you still have Arthur.

You squeeze his hand lightly.

You still have Arthur.

After a few minutes, you feel Niels flop down beside you, going from sitting to lying down. He stretches out with his back turned to you and after a few seconds, you reach out with your free hand to clutch the back of his sweater. A few minutes later, he sighs and turns onto his side, extending his hand and letting you lace your fingers with his.

Maybe…

Maybe you have Niels too.

/

**I have one more hellish exam to go and I spent approximately none of today studying for it because I was writing this chapter that I rewrote three times. I wanted it to still be vague but not too vague but still vague enough. I'm going to be really awfully vague for three more chapters and then I'll start clarifying things. Probably.****  
****also I watched the amazing spiderman movie for the first time. That took up some time I could have been studying aha**


	5. Alfred (-2013)

**This was weird to write after 'In the Land of Gods and Monsters'. The styles are completely different, not to mention the content. **

**/**

Niels is_-_

Okay. It's not that he's _creepy _per se. There's nothing outwardly very strange about him. He doesn't dress weird, despite his affiliation with Dani and Arthur. Doesn't have any iron rings, visible tattoos, or strange amulets. Doesn't wear leather gloves or combat boots, no strange hat or otherwise questionable attire. He doesn't cackle randomly in the middle of sentences, and doesn't talk to himself at odd times during the day. Out of the three of them, Niels _appears_ tobe the most normal.

But he's still…

Really, _really _creepy.

It's his eyes, maybe. Probably. They're an unsettling shade of blue that look almost purple, and don't really reflect light. Ever. They're sort of like bottomless whirlpools of doom and Alfred always feels like he's looking at his own imminent demise whenever he has the misfortune of meeting Niels's gaze head on. And he's not the only one that feels that way. Most of their age group avoided Niels even _before _he got affiliated with Dani and Arthur's reputation, and even adults tend to steer clear. Tend to look at him nervously.

And again, it's weird, because there's nothing _outwardly _strange about him. He's just…he just gives off these massively unfriendly vibes. It's less _I don't like you, back off, _and more _prolonged time in my presence may result in homicide, be warned. _Which is oddly specific but seems perfectly reasonable to Alfred, who gets chills whenever he's within ten feet of the guy.

So yeah, Niels is…kinda creepy.

But Alfred is _sure _he's a good person. Deep down. Because he's Arthur's other best friend, and Arthur always smiles wryly and says Niels is the only reason he and Dani still have their heads attached. He also says that they probably would have been arrested by now if it wasn't for Niels, and Alfred's not sure whether that's because Niels talks them out of doing really stupid illegal things, or if he's just better at covering their tracks.

It could go either way really.

Like Dani, Niels also stuck by Arthur when he was all messed up a few years ago, and the Norwegian doesn't really seem like the type to stick his neck out like that. He's quiet, doesn't like to rile people up like Dani does, doesn't have Arthur's matchstick temper, and generally seems like he tries to avoid trouble. But he confronted his fair share of people that year, put himself between Arthur and the world, and that adds hero points to his name in Alfred's book.

That…doesn't really make him any less creepy though.

Which sucks, because Alfred's having a really, _really _hard time working up the courage to go up to him and ask if he can hold Arthur's surprise party at his house.

'Cause like, _obviously _Dani couldn't just askNiels _himself, _since they were _actually friends_ and all. Nope. _Alfred _had to do it. Because Alfred was the one who wanted to have the party. Or so Dani claimed. Alfred was pretty sure it was just because Dani knew how scared of Niels he was and wanted to see him squirm. That asshole. That weird, sadistic, Romanian _asshole. _

He's hoping he can get around it though. Because the only one besides Dani and Arthur who actively spends time around Niels is a friend of Alfred's. Matthias, the mayor's son. Matthias is hilarious and energetic and really fun to hang around, and for reasons Alfred _really _can't understand, he's had the biggest crush on Niels for like, two years. And has been following him around like a puppy for about as long. The entire school had bets on how long it would take Matthias to show up in a body bag in the forest, but surprisingly, Niels actually sort of…tolerates his presence. Sort of.

The point is, Matthias is Alfred's best bet at a middle man, but that plan falls through basically immediately, because Matthias is apparently out of town for the weekend and _won't_ _pick up his damn phone. _And it's not like Alfred can just leave him a message and wait for him to get back to him. _He's on a tight schedule! _He needs to get the venue booked and locked down as soon as possible so he can start sending out invites and figuring out food and getting decorations and-

He just wants the party to go _perfectly. _

Letting some stupid irrational fear of a creepy guy from Norway or wherever get in the way of Arthur's party is decidedly _not _heroic, so Alfred screws up his courage and bikes to Niels's house. They sort of live on opposite ends of town, but the entire village is pretty tiny anyways, and the weather is nice, so Alfred doesn't mind the bike ride. It's one of the benefits of a small town. You don't need a car or to hitch a ride with your parents to get places, mostly. As long as you don't mind biking for an hour or so. And Alfred is used to biking to Mattie's house anyways.

Building up of courage aside, Alfred is sort of kind of hoping that Niels isn't home. And that he can just ask Tino or Berwald or even Emil if he can use the house. Which is an entirely reasonable assumption! The three of them- Niels and Dani and Arthur –are always out in the woods doing God-knows-what at basically every hour of every day, so it's totally likely that Niels is out with them right now. In fact, maybe Dani decided to put the sadism on the shelf for the day, and purposefully invited Niels out so that Alfred wouldn't have to confront him! That'd be awesome. That'd be _great. _That would make Alfred's entire day. Entire _week. _

Niels is the one who answers when he rings the doorbell.

And Alfred totally doesn't freak out. He doesn't whimper and see his life flash before his eyes or anything dramatic like that…of course not! He just…trips on the porch because there's like…a…rock…and ends up on his butt because Berwald clearly needs to work on keeping the exterior of his house safe and well-maintained. Totally.

Uh.

Anyways, he ends up flat on his butt, with Niels looking at him like he it's taking every ounce of willpower not to like, turn him to dust with a deathray or something. Which is completely plausible because Niels is creepy as hell and if anyone had an evil lair in the basement with a fully functioning death ray it would be him. Well, actually it would probably be Dani, but Niels would _definitely _borrow said death ray to get rid of people who irritated him. Like Alfred. Alfred is probably irritating him right now. Just by _existing. _

Niels folds his arms across his chest and raises one eyebrow slowly and Alfred scrambles to his feet, stuttering apologies and laughing awkwardly and wow that's some uneven planking there huh? Wow. _Wow._

Niels still looks less then impressed, but it's easier now that Alfred's already started talking. It's easier to transition into _so hey yeah I don't know if you heard- actually I hope you haven't heard since it's supposed to be a secret surprise and all- but I'm sort of planning to throw a birthday party for Arthur because you know- he's an awesome guy and he deserves one- and I already talked to Dani about it and he's cool, and he said he'll make sure I don't accidentally invite anyone that Arthur hates, and he said we should hold it here so Arthur will be less likely to bolt because, you know, Arthur doesn't like parties or surprises, and um, okay, you probably think I'm a dick for trying to combine the two and spring it on him, but I just want to show him that people think he's awesome, and also I want to buy him balloons, and uh- _

He keeps rambling on like that, and it's hard to keep himself on track when Niels's expression hasn't changed at all. Seriously, his eyes are literally like soulless whirlpools of doom. Alfred can feel his spirit withering away and dying with every prolonged second spent in his presence.

Eventually he just. Stops. The words die away from his lips and he laughs awkwardly before falling silent, rocking on his heels and wishing he could make himself disappear.

After what feels like an _eternity, _Niels rolls his eyes and steps back into the house, flicking some hair out of his eyes.

"Dani already called me and told me about the party," he says flatly, "You can hold it here."

And then he shuts the door.

Alfred spends a good minute standing there with his mouth hanging open, before he sucks in a breath and turns on his heel, cursing Danut Dragomir all the way back to his bike. Evil. He is _evil. _

But Niels said yes! Niels said yes and now Alfred can start really getting down to business with this party. He's got to start calling people, start buying balloons and cakes and banners…

Just the thought of it banishes his bad mood, and by the time he's on the road and riding home there's a smile on his face.

There's nothing in the way of Arthur's party now. Danut may be weird and evil and Niels might be creepy as hell, but they're Arthur's best friends, and now, they're both on board with his party.

Everything is set, and now it's up to Alfred to make sure everything goes _perfectly._

/

**I've got a lot of feelings about Niels and Matthias in this 'verse, but I'm trying to keep them locked up tight.**


	6. Niels (2002-2006)

He repeats it like a mantra.

_Don't be human._

_Don't be human. _

_She'll come back for you if you prove you're not human._

And he keeps his face carefully blank, and he pushes back those irrational, mortal emotions, and he's sure she'll come back for him.

/

It's a year after she dropped him off with his father, and it's changed, a bit.

_Don't be human. _

_But protect Emil. _

_He's only half human, like you. _

_So it's okay to __protect him._

He makes them dinner out of the leftovers in the fridge. He steals money from their father's wallet when he's drunk and passed out and walks into town to buy fruit. He changes Emil's diaper and sleeps beside him.

His father is human, and he's selfish and stupid. Emil is only half human, and it's the human half that they share, but he still feels like he needs to protect him. It wouldn't be right, to let a baby die because of their human father's negligence.

He wonders what will happen to Emil, if she does come back. Emil is not hers, after all.

/

Two and a half years after she drops him off with his human father, they end up fleeing Iceland and going to America, too many people knocking on their door demanding money they don't have. They live in hotel rooms then, and his mantra doesn't change.

_Don't be human. _

_Protect Emil. _

_Don't be human. _

_Protect Emil. _

He's seen the worst of it, by now, and he understands perfectly what his mother used to tell him about humans. That they're selfish, irrational, ruled by foolish emotions. Blind to the language of the world, the light and dark energies, and made dumb by their ignorance. Contemptible, and unreliable. It's no trouble to not be human. No trouble to shut off those emotions. He has no reason to keep them, when they are nothing but a sign of idiocy and weakness.

He tries to teach Emil the same, but his brother picks it up easily on his own. The infant doesn't laugh, because no one's shown him how. And he doesn't cry, because then they're father will be angry.

Sometimes his eyes blue-purple eyes darken and purple flame dances along his fingers. Sometimes he feel the burning fire inside him flare up, and he's suddenly aware of the magnitude of the power that lies within him.

But he knows better. He knows not to reveal himself. He can't be human, but he has to _fake _human. Otherwise his mother will be upset, and she'll never come for him.

/

Three years after his mother drops him off on his father's doorstep, he leaves his stupid, contemptible human father and takes off. There's something warm in the distance, something that calls to the fire burning in his chest and stomach. Emil clings to his back and they walk out of the hotel, walk down the road, and keep walking.

_Don't be human. _

_Protect Emil. _

_Get somewhere safe. _

He gives all their food and water to Emil because he doesn't need them. He's not human and he doesn't need them. He ignores the weakness in his legs and the dryness in his throat and the sharp pangs in his stomach. He's stronger than that. He's not human, so he's stronger than that.

He doesn't remember falling down, and he doesn't remember closing his eyes, but when he opens them again, there are two boys staring down at him.

_Humans, _he thinks with contempt. Until the one with brown hair says 'We can totally see the troll that carried you here. We've both got the sight, so don't freak out!' And the one with blonde hair says 'Minty says you're not human, what are you?'

_Humans? _He wonders, confused.

He turns his head and sees that there is, indeed, a troll standing behind him, and wonders whether his mother sent it, or if the creature was just in the area, and decided to help.

His eyes close again, and he wonders what kind of place he's ended up in.

/

He arrives in a small town with a strangely large population of not-humans or humans-with-a-dash-of-something-else and has to update his list.

_Don't be human. _

_Protect Emil. _

_Don't piss off the dragon. _

_Avoid Danut and Arthur._

All he has to do to achieve the third one is not be reckless with his powers. Which is a foreign concept in itself, because he's never been able to do _anything _with his abilities before. But the forest here is saturated with magic, and there are all sorts of creatures breathing fire and conjuring spirits in its depths. For the first time, he has the freedom to experiment with his mother's heritage.

The last one is harder. Danut and Arthur, the sorcerer-child and the child-with-the-sight-who-is-probably-a-witch, seem determined to befriend him. Which is ridiculous. They are mostly human, and he is not.

They run wild in the forest, the two of them. Experimenting with the limited magic they possess and bothering the dragon that watches over the entire area. Sometimes he takes Emil in the forest to see the nymphs and he hears them playing. Hears them laughing. He ignores them. Sometimes they knock on Tino's door and ask him to come out. Ask him how he's doing. He ignores them. Or tries to.

On a Sunday, Danut asks him to come help them chase out some pixies that are causing trouble by Arthur's house.

He says no.

On a rainy Saturday, Danut asks if he wants to go see if there's a ghost living in the abandoned farmhouse.

He says no.

On a sunny Friday, Danut asks if he wants to go see Arthur's friend, the fox-spirit who lives with the dragon, and hang out there for the day.

He says no.

_Don't be human. _

_Protect Emil. _

_Don't piss of the dragon. _

_Avoid Danut and Arthur. _

He doesn't want to do anything outside of those four things. He doesn't want to go to school, however much Tino and Berwald (humans. humans he's being forced to live with) tell him he has to. He doesn't want to speak to anyone (the humans are beneath him. the beings like him, full of magic, enjoy pretending to be human, and it's stupid). And he doesn't want to run with the two boys who are still fallibly human, even if they are a sorcerer and a witch.

He notices though, that Emil is beginning to smile, a bit. Laughs sometimes, when Berwald makes faces at him. No longer shies away from Tino's touch. Looked nervous, but excited, at the idea of school.

His brother is half-human, but he is not waiting for his mother to come back for him. He doesn't even know who Emil's mother is, except that she was probably a nymph of some kind. Emil has no reason to fight his human side, even if he had only seen the worst that humans had to offer before coming to this town.

But Emil starts to smile, tentatively, and as much as he wants to tell him that he shouldn't, that emotions are weak, he stays silent.

/

Tino takes Emil into the market one day, and Berwald goes to his workshop. He is in the house alone. It's quiet, and he stretches out on the couch and closes his eyes.

_Don't be human. _

_Protect Emil. _

_Don't piss off the dragon. _

_Avoid Danut and Arthur. _

His eyes fly open when someone pounds at the door, and he sits up as he hears Arthur screaming for help, saying that Danut's been carried off by some sort of demon.

Danut's parents are in Romania, and there's no way Arthur can run all the way to the dragon for help in time. He is the closest one. The closest one who can help. Humans are useless in situations like these.

But it's none of his business, and he starts to say no.

He starts to.

But he doesn't.

He follows Arthur.

(It's not like he has anything better to do)

It's his first time using his powers offensively, and he's surprised at how much damage he causes. Several trees are turned to ash, and the grass is scorched clear away from the area. But the adolescent hellhounds causing trouble have been scared off, suffering burns from his fire, and the nature spirits that always follow Arthur around nip at their retreating heels.

Danut's got nasty scratches all over, and his foot is twisted, but he grins when he sees him, laughs and says _my hero _with a stupid high-pitched voice.

He turns on his heel and leaves them, rolling his eyes.

(his heart is pounding in his chest. He's never done something like this before, used his powers liked that, helped someone else and it feels- he feels-)

He bites his tongue until he tastes blood before whatever word he was thinking of can finish forming in his mind, and he savagely reminds himself of his mantra. Of his promise to himself.

_Don't be human._

A week later, one of those nature spirits bangs into his window and tells him that Arthur and Danut accidentally disturbed a temperamental dryad and are being chased around the forest.

He tells the spirit it's not his problem.

…

He gets up anyways.

He's not doing it because those two idiots can't seem to stay out of trouble. It's an excuse to toy around with his powers, that's the only reason he's helping. He's not going to make a habit of it. It'll probably _never _happen again.

_Don't be human, _he repeats stubbornly, even as he and Danut drive the dryad off with fire and then watch as Arthur console the tree nymphs that they've spooked. Even as Danut beams at him and Arthur calls him _reliable _and _helpful _and _a good friend. _

"I'm not," he says vehemently, and Danut just smiles, and Arthur rolls his eyes, and he has no idea what to do.

_Don't be human, _he repeats in his head.

But Danut and Arthur are only human by technicality. They are, as the dragon calls it, _of the wild. _With magic flowing through them and the sight freeing them from typical human ignorance.

So...it's not terrible then, helping them out from time to time.

He's not going to make a habit of it though, he has better things to do, after all.

/

It's almost been a year since he's come to the town.

It's been four years since his mother left him.

He's ten years old.

_Don't be human. _

_Protect Emil. _

_Don't piss off the dragon. _

It's a Sunday and he's torching a boggart that's bothering Arthur. It's a Thursday and Danut accidently summons mischevious imps that nearly tear his house to shreds before he gets there to help. It's a chilly Tuesday afternoon and he pulls a troublesome goblin away from them and tosses it into the river.

"Thanks Niels," gasps Danut, picking himself off the ground, "I thought we were goners!"

Arthur smiles sheepishly and picks leaves out of his hair. "Thank you, Niels. We'll try not to make a habit of asking for your help, I promise!"

Niels rolls his eyes.

_Don't be human. _

_Protect Emil. _

_Don't piss off the dragon. _

_Keep Danut and Arthur out of trouble._

_/_

**the party next chapter. woooooo**

**Thank you to those who commented! And to everyone who's enjoying the story! **

**edit: holy balls I hate this site so much. messes up. so much crap. I've had to replace this chapter like three times to edit stuff. just. fffffffu. and I had to edit something out completely because of this site's lameass formatting and I just. just. _why._**


	7. Arthur (2013)

**Missed last week's update because of Anime North. Much apologies. **

/

His favourite thing to do is lie down beneath the trees and close his eyes.

With his eyes closed, he can clearly hear the sound of the treetops rustling in the breeze, the sound of the swaying grass, the echoing noises made by the various animals inhabiting the forest.

He can sense them too, if he pushes his concentration a little bit. Can connect himself with nature and feel all the other living creatures surrounding him, from the ants and the grasshoppers to the birds and the flowers and the trees.

It rained earlier that morning, and he can still smell it on the breeze, in the dampness of the grass and the scent of loam heavy in the air. It reminds him of England, just a little.

He's happy, lying down like this, and he feel flowers twining between his toes, bursting up underneath his fingertips and wrapping loosely around his appendages, responding to his good mood. There's something nuzzling against his cheek, and it's probably one of the flower fairies- different from the Fae, less malicious, less powerful, and more skittish, but drawn to his affinity with nature.

Something brushes against his chin and he feels something else playing with his hair. Definitely flower fairies then. They always like twining stems and petals through his hair. The number of times he's gone into school with flowers tucked behind his ears and sticking out from his hair in every direction is embarrassingly high. If he takes the flowers out too soon, the fairies get offended, and while they're not as dangerous and outright malicious as the Fae, they're not above leaving poison oak in his bedsheets or burs in his shoes.

He stirs slightly as he senses something new entering the area he's in. The aura is intimately familiar, a mix of heavy, dark magic, and slightly demonic energy, coupled with an underlying scent of blood.

Arthur blinks his eyes open and begins sitting up slowly, the fairies tittering and scurrying away as he pulls himself upright. A flower hangs down over his eyes from where it's been tied into the front of his hair, and he brushes it out of the way with a sigh. There are grass and flower stems growing all over his legs, tangling between his toes, and he makes a tsking sound and taps the ground lightly. The greenery recedes from where it was wound about his body, retracting back into the earth, and he stands to his feet, brushing away the pollen left behind by the flower fairies.

A moment later, Dani hops down from a tree, grinning widely, and hopskipping across the grass and over roots to twirl to a stop directly in front of Arthur. Arthur raises an eyebrow and rolls his eyes, folding his arms across his chest and leaning back against the tree behind him.

"Is something up, Dani? I told you I wanted to spend the afternoon in the forest," he comments, the _by myself _hovering unspoken between the two of them. Dani just widens his grin, before shrugging and rocking back on his heels.

"Yeah, and I told you that's no way to spend your birthday, and that I'd probably crash your splendid isolation at some point," he replies with a cocky head tilt. "C'mon man, I know you like being one with nature and all, but you're being unfair to those of us who want to celebrate with you on this special day!"

Arthur rolls his eyes. "Dani, this morning when we woke up you spent a good 30 minutes singing me happy birthday in every language you know while Niels baked me that ridiculous double layer cake, and then we marathoned Doctor Who and ate a tub of ice cream. I think we celebrated _plenty_."

Dani pouts, and folds his arms across his chest, the intricate black lines of his tattoos standing out against his pale skin. "But then we had to go to school and everyone was grumpy 'cause it was raining and it basically cancelled out any celebrating that we did. So I think we should celebrate some more. And Niels agrees! He even volunteered his house."

Arthur barely bats an eyelid when Niels emerges from behind a tree, soundless as usual. He used to be able to sense Niels's aura as well, but over time Niels learned to conceal it completely. A necessity, given the nature of his powers and the negative effect they tended to have on any and all living things.

"Don't lump me in with you, idiot," says Niels bluntly, giving Dani a flat look before shifting his gaze to Arthur, "But Tino baked you something, so you should at least come over for a minute to try it."

Arthur's mouth twitches slightly, and he fights to keep his scowl in place. He _loves _Tino's cooking. His sister's cooking tends to, ah, end up on the dry and slightly burnt side, and he's rarely home to taste it anyways. Dani's a decent cook, but he's a very haphazard and all over the place individual and has a tendency to mix up his cooking pots and his potion pots. The last time he had made chicken soup Arthur's tongue had turned blue and he'd lost the ability to read for a day.

Niels is surprisingly good at cooking, and he's the one who usually does it when the three of them are at Dani's house together. That's where Arthur was first exposed to some of Tino's recipes, and while Niels makes them well, Tino makes them _much_ better.

He _really _loves Tino's cooking.

"Oh, _fine_," he huffs in defeat, countering Dani's victorious grin with a glare, "But I'm not staying long. Mum wants me home in time for dinner." _That _wasn't something he was looking forward to. He and his family really weren't on speaking terms, and as much as they tried to sweep that under the rug for birthdays and holidays all it ever did was create a tense atmosphere where they were all just _waiting _for someone to snap. Usually it was Scotty or Arthur or their mum. Scotty just couldn't stand Arthur, plainly, and their mum was convinced Arthur was doing drugs or in a gang or otherwise ruining his life and their reputation. Arthur just got tired of his siblings and parents not understanding anything about him. Whether it was his need to be outside as often as possible, his close friendship with Dani and Niels, or his lack of desire to go into business like his brothers and sisters. It certainly didn't help that he couldn't tellthem the truth about the town, about the forest, about himself and his friends.

Ugh. Actually, maybe he'd end up staying long after all. They were probably all expecting him to be late to his own birthday dinner anyways.

It doesn't take long to walk to Niels's house. The three of them all live relatively close to one another, all of their houses deep in the thick of the forest that makes up the majority of the small village. It's deep and tangled and avoided by most of the village's population. There are no paths or trails cutting through the undergrowth, no sign of human interaction or interference. The roots are gnarled, the grass is long and twisted, and the canopy of branches and leaves is thick and near impermeable. The forest is easy to get lost in, violently wild and filled with the sounds of creatures hidden in the shades and shadows, in the dark corners where light doesn't touch.

But Arthur has practically lived in the forest since he moved here, since he met Dani and Yao and Kiku and started getting in touch with his sight and his powers and his connection to nature. He knows it like the back of his hand, and even though the sun is setting and the light is fading, he easily knows the way to Niels's. His friends are much the same, all three of them spend more time in the wild of the forest then out of it, and they all make their way through it easily, jumping over roots, vaulting over fallen trunks and clambering through the trees whenever the branches are thick enough.

All of the lights are off in the house as they approach, and that seems odd to Arthur, since Berwald and Tino should both be home by now, and Tino tends to like to keep things bright and lively.

He pauses, planting his bare feet firmly on the ground and allowing his perception to fan out. There's a brief moment of disorientation as he becomes hyperaware of all the living things surrounding him, and then he's jerking back in surprise as he's assaulted by almost twenty different auras inside a house that should have, at most, three people in it.

He's confused for a few seconds, before the dots connect in his mind and he stiffens, his brows knitting together angrily.

"Dani," he begins, his voice low. "_Dani." _

"Yeah?" responds Dani cheerfully, turning to face his friend. His smile drops when he sees Arthur's face though, and he takes a step back, hands held up placatingly. "Oh jeez, what's the matter? Whatever it is, it's not my fault, I _swear_."

Arthur's nostrils flare and he casts his eyes towards Niels, who stares back blankly. His face is impassive as usual, but his mouth is twitching upwards slightly, like he's fighting back a smile.

"It was supposed to be a surprise," he comments idly, shrugging under Arthur's accusing glare, "You cheated."

Dani's face falls as he finally understands the reason for Arthur's abrupt change in attitude, and he makes a frustrated whining sound, scurrying up to his friend and punching at his shoulder.

"Arthuuuur! You used your perception? That's so uncool, now you ruined it!" he complains, pouting.

"Ruined what, my own birthday?" counters Arthur, his voice rising in pitch with anger and incredulity, "You've got to be bloody joking. There had _better _not be a bunch of people gathered in that house with the intent of surprisingme with some sort of party. I fucking swear, I will _not _be held accountable to what I will do to the two of you if you are actually trying to throw me a _bloody surprise party_."

Dani pales, and he backs away from Arthur quickly, shooting Niels concerned, panicked looks. The latter merely rolls his eyes, flicking waywards strands of hair away from his face.

"Two things," says Niels calmly, holding up two of his fingers, "One, me and Dani aren't responsible for this. We're just the hired help. Two, none of your family members were invited, so you don't have to stress about that. We screened the guest list. This 'party' only has people you tolerate."

Arthur's face twitches, and he exhales heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose. "That- that's not the point, Niels. I don't _want-,_" he cuts himself off abruptly, blinking and looking up with a look of confusion flitting across his face. Arthur looks between Niels and Dani, eyes narrowed.

"You…you guys aren't responsible? But I don't… Who the hell else would care enough to throw me a bloody-,"

He freezes.

His mind flashes back about two weeks, to a memory of visiting Alfred and finding that ridiculous planning sheet. He remembers threatening Alfred with pain of death if he even _considered _throwing him a party. But even then, he hadn't really taken the younger boy seriously. He didn't actually think he would…

"It's not going to be as bad as you think it'll be," says Dani cautiously, "Honestly, it's only our friends in there, and Alfred worked _really _hard to make this something you'd actually _enjoy. _He um," The brunette smiles and lets out a little laugh, rubbing the back of his head, "He really likes you, y'know? And he knows about your familial issues, so like, I think he just wanted to show you that you've got a decent amount of people who legitimately care about you. So uh, don't stone the poor kid. His heart's in the right place."

A lump suddenly rises in Arthur's throat, and he swallows thickly, his anger dissipating and his stomach suddenly in knots. He doesn't…he doesn't even know what to do with that. His friendship with Alfred has always been confusing to him, and he's always written it off as the younger boy just enjoying having someone to ride horses with, someone who loves them as much as he does and can keep up with him. He doesn't like to think about it more than that. It feels too dishonest, thinking their friendship is anything deep and meaningful. Not when there are so many secrets about Arthur that Alfred doesn't know. That Alfred will _never _know.

But he can't deny that he enjoys the other boy's company. He can't deny that he likes spending time with Alfred, likes helping him out around his dad's farm. Likes lounging in his room. It's strangely mundane, compared to what he does with Niels, and Dani, and even Kiku. Alfred is his only friend that is absolutely and purely human. Not a touch of the Wild in him. And while Arthur loves his life full of magic and nature and danger, he really, really enjoys the quiet afternoons he spends with Alfred as well.

He takes a deep breath.

"Okay," he says after a long silence, his shoulders sagging, "Okay, fine."

Dani perks up immediately, his smile blooming into a full-fledged grin, and the tense line of Niels's shoulders relax. Dani hurries forward and throws an arm around Arthur's shoulders, steering his friend towards the house.

"Oh, _awesome." _He says, voice full of relief._ "_We've been standing out here for like, ever, and half of the people in that house have super-hearing or super-smell or super-whatever, meaning they _know_ we've been standing out here and are probably wondering what the hell the hold up is."

"Remember," adds Niels, walking beside them with a small, barely visible smile on his face, "Act surprised."

Arthur rolls his eyes and hip-checks Dani lightly, following Niels across the walkway and then up the steps of the porch. No longer touching the earth, Arthur's enhanced perception fades away, and the resulting quiet feels almost eerie.

"A house full of people who care about me," he murmurs to himself as Niels turns the doorknob, "Well alright, let's see it."

The door swings open.

The cry of 'Surprise!" has Arthur reeling backwards, eyes squeezing shut, and he feels himself being propelled inside before he's even opened them again.

He feels a hand grabbing his, and he looks up to see Alfred beaming at him, pulling him inside and grinning from ear to ear.

"Happy birthday, Arthur!" he exclaims, and Arthur winces at the volume, rubbing his free hand against his ear. Alfred doesn't seem to notice though, practically vibrating as he leads Arthur into the house.

"Surprise! Hey, are you even surprised? I worked really hard to keep this a secret! I made sure everyone who was invited knew that spilling the beans would result in the death penalty, and I-,"

Alfred's incessant chatter fades to the background as Arthur looks around at all the people gathered, some of them already pressing forward to wish him happy birthday as well.

There's Kiku, of course. They had been very close when they were children, when Kiku was still on the fence about whether he wanted to 'play human' or not. And Kiku's patience and meditation techniques had been instrumental in helping Arthur through the…rough patch he had had when he was fourteen. With Kiku were all of his siblings, who again, Arthur had been very close with when they were younger. They all used to run wild in the mountains east of the town, with Yao chasing after them and telling them off for being too reckless.

Everyone is busy now, with school and work and otherwise, but it sends a warm feeling through him, seeing Yong Soo, Mei, Xiang, Lei, Linh, and Tai, smiling at him and sending him best wishes.

There's Gilbert, an unexpected friend. Their friendship is new and tentative, but there's something likeable about the otherwise obnoxious young man, and Arthur can't help but return the grin the albino shoots him. Elizaveta and Roderich aren't with him, which is rare, these days, but Arthur isn't friends with them, exactly, so he supposes it made sense. Instead, Francis is leaning on the wall beside Gilbert. Arthur finds the Frenchman insufferable at most times, but he's both aware of the supernatural elements of the town and friends with Scotty. Meaning he's the one Arthur tends to complain about his family to. He wouldn't call himself and Francis friends, necessarily, but, well…he's not opposed to him being here.

Matthew and Angelique are also here, Francis's adopted younger siblings. Matthew is Alfred's best friend, and a lovely boy, honestly. Arthur will _never _not be sorry about how they first met, and how traumatic it was for the younger boy. He knows that Matthew's still afraid of him because of it, and he's pleasantly surprised that he still came to the party despite that fear. He really, really hopes he can make it up to him one day. There's none of that rocky history with Angelique though, and Arthur laughs and gives her a hug when she runs up and kisses him on the cheek. She's a sweet, if a bit absent-minded girl, and Arthur will never understand how someone like _Francis _managed to raise such mild-mannered children. Especially since Francis is one hundred percent human and Matthew and Angelique are…not.

Matthias is here, and Arthur rolls his eyes as the Danish teen wishes him a quick happy birthday and then heads straight for Niels like a slingshot is propelling him. They're not exactly friends, but Arthur appreciates Matthias's tenacity, and the fact that he's helping to chip away at Niels's deep-seated distrust of humans. He's similar to Alfred, in that he's simultaneously unbearably obnoxious and impossible to dislike. His boisterous laugh echoes around the room, and Arthur finds himself smiling at the sound.

Niels's younger brother Emil is also here, looking uncomfortable. He mumbles happy birthday at Arthur as he walks by, and then crosses to the other side of the room to stand by Xiang. Arthur is pretty sure Emil's only here because Xiang's here, but that's fine. He doesn't make a point of hanging out with his older brother's friends either.

Berwald and Tino are both here as well, and Tino rushes up and gives him a warm hug, which Arthur returns. The young couple are remarkably understanding, and even though they don't know about the supernatural or magic or anything of that sort, they still respect Niels's need to be out in the forest at all kinds of odd hours, and understand the close friendship he, Dani, and Arthur share. While he usually goes to Dani's when being in his parents' home gets unbearable, Arthur has spent a few mornings and evenings sipping cocoa and eating licorice in Niels's kitchen with Tino.

And finally, at the back of the room are Rajni and Yao, sipping tea and conversing quietly amongst themselves. It might seem strange to have two men who are (allegedly) in their thirties here, but Arthur respects them both immensely, and had adored Yao when he was younger. It feels right to have them here, even if they both remain seated and simply give him small smiles from where they're sitting.

"Hey Arthur, are you even listening to me?"

Arthur blinks, and turns his head back towards Alfred, who is staring down at him with a pout on his face. He meets the younger boy's gaze blankly for a moment, before a smile slowly spreads across his face, and he laughs, letting his head fall against Alfred's shoulder.

"Sorry, no," he answers with a chuckle, "I was…distracted. By this…by this _thing _you've gone and done for me."

Alfred stills, and Arthur looks up to see the other teen biting at his bottom lip, suddenly looking concerned and sheepish.

"You're not…you're not super hysterically pissed are you?" he asks, his voice squeaking out the question, "Because I know you said no party, especially surprise parties, but I-,"

"Shh, no, I'm not 'super hysterically pissed'," interrupts Arthur with a snort, patting Alfred on the shoulder, "No, it's…it's good. It's nice. Thank you."

He smiles up at Alfred, and the younger teen's cheeks flush red. He coughs abruptly and turns his face away from Arthur, once again pulling on his arm and steering him across the room.

"So, uh, I know your taste in food is kind of wack so I wasn't sure what to do for that? But Niels said he would handle it because apparently you dig Tino's cooking or whatever. So there's like, a _bakery _of stuff that the two of them made in the kitchen for you…and Dani was in charge of music so if anything goes wrong with that it is absolutely _not _my fault-,"

The smile remains on Arthur's face as Alfred steers him around the room, stopping to talk to some of the guests and then moving on to another area, grabbing baked goods and junk food from the kitchen, and releasing an incessant stream of chatter into Arthur's ear.

It isn't until Dani starts the music that they _finally _part ways. Arthur, firm about not dancing so soon after stuffing himself full of cake, plops down on the sofa and waves Alfred away for a time. The younger teen deliberates for a few seconds, before making Arthur promise to give him at least _one _dance, and then running of to badger Matthew into doing the cha cha slide with him.

Arthur smiles fondly after him, sighing and sinking back into the couch cushions. Less than a minute later, Dani plops down beside him, grinning.

"See? Not so bad, huh?" He teases, nudging Arthur's shoulder playfully. Arthur snorts, and shoves back, genuine happiness lighting up his features.

"Yeah," he agrees contentedly, "Not so bad at all."

/

**So, introduced some characters here while still being infuriatingly vague, haha.**

**To be honest, even though it's been like seven chapters, I feel like this whole arc has been like...an extended prologue. Letting you get to know Arthur and Dani and Niels who are, arguably, the main characters in this story. And giving you little tidbits of information without revealing too much about anything.**

**Next chapter, honestly, feels more like the first chapter to me. It takes place at the very beginning of the timeline for this story, and actually explains stuff, I promise. I think you'll all enjoy it. :)**

**And after I post that chapter, I'll start working on the requests I've been given! It's probably going to be Lovino and Antonio first, since they didn't end up being in this chapter and people have been asking after them since the first chapter...**


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